Carolina Pulled Pork

(If you like Chick-fil-A sauce then you will like this recipe)

Use a pork shoulder roast or pork butt roast

prepare the cooker;

slice onion and put in bottom of cooker

pour in half can of Rootbeer or more depending on the size of your cooker, add apple cider vinegar so that there is about 1 inch of liquid (you can also use broth if you like for the liquid)

then rub meat with a mixture of

Cumin, garlic salt, salt and pepper (add chili powder if you like spice)

there is not measured amounts here, just balance it out depending on the amount you like of different tastes, I always use more cumin that any other spice but usually close to equal parts, mix enough to cover roast on all sides

put rubbed roast in crock pot or covered roaster pan in oven (250 degrees)

slow cooker about 6 to 8 hours, or 4 hours in an oven for 250 degrees

shred the roast with forks (pull apart) (make sure meat is falling apart before you shred otherwise it will be tough and chewy

sauce

I use about

1 1/2 cups of mustard (or a whole large container of mustard from Wal-mart)

1/4 cup or less of dark brown sugar

1/2 to 1 cup of apple cider vinegar

bring to boil and taste, add honey to cool it down or vinegar to spice it up, if you put sugar in it it tastes funny so keep with a small of brown sugar, honey makes it better

then add to meat and add 1/2 stick of butter, stir and keep warm for about an hour then serve, the longer it stays ready for serving, you can keep adding the vinegar and honey (equal parts) to keep it moist along with small amounts of butter

the two secret ingredients in this are the butter and Rootbeer- most recipes you find don't have either and it does make a difference

Sausage and Bean Ragout

Finally, I'm posting a recipe that isn't a dessert or bread! Feels nice to cook real food again. :) A coworker gave me some fresh basil which inspired an internet search for a dinner recipe. This was delicious, and super easy. I altered it a bit to use what I had... I put the changes in parentheses. (From Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (I skipped this)
• 1 pound ground beef (I used ground turkey)
• 1 pound hot Italian pork sausage, casing removed (used Jimmy Dean ground Italian sausage)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 1/2 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth (regular, Natural Goodness™ or Certified Organic)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes seasoned with garlic, oregano and basil (I just had plain... still really good)
• 1 (16 ounce) can white kidney beans (cannellini), rinsed and drained (I used 2 cans)
• 1/2 cup uncooked elbow pasta (I used penne because that's what I had)
• 1 (6 ounce) package fresh baby spinach leaves, washed
• 1/3 cup grated Romano cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in saucepot over medium-high heat. Add beef, sausage and onion and cook until meats are browned, stirring to separate meat. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
2. Add broth, basil, tomatoes and beans. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pasta and cook until pasta is done.
3. Add spinach and cook just until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Serve with additional cheese.

Marinated Baked Pork Chops

1 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Lemon Juice
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
2 tbsp Ketchup
6 Pork Chops, trimmed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. In a small bowl, thoroughly blend soy sauce, vegetable oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and ketchup.

3. Place pork chops in a medium baking dish, and spread with half the sauce.

4. Bake the pork chops for 30 minutes. Turn, and spread with remaining sauce. Continue baking for 30 minutes, or until internal temperature of the chops has reached 160 degrees F.

This recipe is from allrecipes.com

**Sorry, I don't have a picture for this, but trust me, they are delicious. I have also used pork ribs in place of the chops - equally as delicious**